TPC Journal-Vol 11-Issue-1

The Professional Counselor | Volume 11, Issue 1 127 7. What has been your experience when interacting with national and local organizations, such as ACA, ASCA, etc.? Do you feel supported by professional organizations and leaders, and has this changed throughout your career? I love our national organizations. I do not think that I could feel any more supported by these professional organizations. I was always skeptical and hesitant to be a part of them due to experiences with non-counseling organizations that left a bad taste in my mouth. With those past organizations, I felt that I was just paying a yearly subscription but not getting anything for it. I would recommend the American Counseling Association (ACA) or ASCA to anyone that is contemplating membership. My career has been greatly influenced by being a part of national and local organizations. I am very grateful for the opportunities that I have had because of the organizations that I have been a part of. The West Virginia School Counseling Association and ASCA each see the importance in recognizing individuals for the work that they are doing. They are helping make us better professionals through the content that they continue to provide for their members. Being able to put West Virginia School Counselor of the Year and ASCA State Representative on my résumé has been great for me because people take notice of that; they want individuals who are the best at what they do. I know if I ever need something or have a question, all I need to do is reach out to those organizational contacts and they will answer and support me and the work that I am doing. 8. Throughout your years of practice, what has been your experience when collaborating with other mental health and medical professionals? My experiences have been positive when collaborating with other mental health and medical professionals. I think it has been that way because we are seeing each other as vital to the overall success of helping the students that we serve. It is no longer a territorial thing that it might have been in the past. We are finding ways to work together with each other and do what is best for the students. That is how it needs to be. Not too long ago, before I was a school counselor, I did work as a mobile therapist and I had the capability to go into schools to help support the students that I served. I remember one child who I was working with had a lot of things going on at school, and that was where my focus needed to be. Well, the school did not want me coming into the school or working with the child while in school because they had concerns that there would be problems, as the resident school counselor was also working with this student, and they did not want two different therapeutic approaches being utilized with the student. It is best when you can collaborate with one another and come up with a consistent approach. I always told myself that one of the first things I would do if I ever became a school counselor would be to build relationships within the community. I recognized the importance of working together and that one person cannot do everything. In my last few years before I took my current position, I set up opportunities for the student support staff in the school (nurses, attendance officer, school social worker, teachers, etc.) to meet and discuss the needs of the students. I would make time to connect with outside agencies to make sure that we were all on the same page and working toward the same goal. This proved to be very beneficial, and I feel that the relationships with our outside mental health and medical professionals are stronger than ever. Being in my new position has also allowed me to continue to build those relationships and coordinate not only at a school level, but at a county level that will benefit all of our schools.